soldier s t o r i e s- Hunter Curtis Gough

quoted from their son's eulogy, written by a mother and father, 
in loving remembrance of their son, Hunter.

"Hunter Curtis Gough entered this life in the same way he exited this life... in a hurry."

"Hunter's independent, clever spirit was evident early on. 

That was our Hunter... always doing things his way, hoping to get away with it,

 and often he did because of his charm and wit."

" Hunter's illness came on very suddenly.

 He had a few minor low grade fevers, a bit of a cold here and there,

 but really nothing until December 2007, 

when our family heard the devastating news... 

Hunter had leukemia. 

It is a treatable disease, however Hunter ended up with complications involving chromosomes,

 and a very aggressive, very difficult to treat type of fungal pneumonia.

 At every turn, the cards were stacked against him. 

We of course held up hope that his body would heal until the final hour,

 but it was not in God's plan."

"Hunter was not awake at all the final three weeks of his illness. He felt no pain."

" Our beloved Hunter is now with God. He is an angel watching over all of us. His memory will live on in all of us. He had affected us all in some way, and we believe he had a real purpose here on this earth. Perhaps he was here to show us how to dream, how to challenge the norm, how to live each day to the fullest. We believe he was also here to show us how to love and be loved, unconditionally."

Gough family,

 I'm honored to be walking in remembrance of your sweet Hunter

and his courageous fight with cancer.

 May he rest in peace.

To donate to my sixty mile journey's

 fundraising goal in Hunter's honor,

please click on his name below.

H U N T E R 

soldier s t o r i e s- Brandon Collins

written by my dear childhood friend Erin Ferrell and her mother,
in remembrance of a little brother and only son, Brandon.

"Okay....you were right....tears after 24 years.......the pain never goes away....

I hope this is enough to start.....xoxoxo"

 "Brandon was 3 1/2 years old when one side of his face suddenly became temporarily paralyzed.  One of his legs had been bothering him for a few months, but rubbing it for him seemed to help.  He was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer which in 1982 had 0% survival rate for children diagnosed when they were over 1 1/2 years old.  He endured multiple rounds of chemotherapy and went into remission for a very short time.  When he turned 4, he had lots of energy and his hair was growing back.  Just 4 months later, a huge bump appeared on his thigh.  The cancer was back and very aggressive.

 

Brandon endured more chemo, radiation and a spinal tap in an effort to prepare him for a bone marrow transplant.  The cancer had spread to his bones and he never got strong enough to undergo the procedure.

Throughout his ordeal, he remained sweet and loving.  He especially enjoyed our weekend visits with his cousins, who pampered him and helped him retain his sense of humor.  He adored his sister and couldn't wait to go to kindergarten at her school.  She had been his 'teacher' during so much of their playtime. 

Unfortunately his dream didn't materialize as he passed away 2 1/2 months before the school year was to begin.  He was 5 years old."

Collins- Ferrell family,

 I'm honored to be walking in remembrance of your sweet Brandon 

and his courageous fight with cancer.

 May he rest in peace.

To donate to my sixty mile journey's

 fundraising goal in Brandon's honor,

please click on his name below.

B R A N D O N 

thank you.

soldier s t o r i e s

When I decided to sign up for the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure, I knew that I would be walking 

those sixty miles for my paternal grandmother that had breast cancer, and suffered a double mastectomy; 

although I knew that I too would be walking for the many other cancer soldiers that I have been 

surrounded by throughout my life. I have deemed My 60 Mile Journey, a tribute walk. Those three 

consecutive days in November will be dedicated to a vast and widely varied group of people. Varied by 

age, race and type of cancer. Some mothers, some fathers. Some sisters, some brothers.

 Some grandmothers and grandfathers.

All human, all beautiful living creatures, all suffering the same disease. 

All warriors; soldiers in the flight of their lives. 

I'm honored to be able to share with you, each of the honorees that I will be walking for. 

Throughout the months leading up to the three day walk in November, I will be highlighting each of these 

cancer soldiers and trying to bring awareness to their name and their life, as well as their struggle. 

Please join me is celebrating the courage and the beauty of each of these amazing souls.

To donate to my fundraising effort in one of these or any other cancer soldiers name,

please follow the attached link below.

thank you.

S O L D I E R  S T O R I E S 

my sixty mile journey

my first fundraising event for the Susan G. Komen

 3-Day Race for The Cure is coming up next month...

i'm walking sixty miles in November to honor my grandmother, 

a breast cancer survivor.

(as well as to honor a handful of other amazing souls.)

i'm really trying to spread the word about my mission 


and in hopes of doing so, I'm sponsoring a little giveaway...


a hodgepodge of spring fun, 


all wrapped up and mailed directly to your front door.


(trust me, it's fun stuff.)


Here's what you need to do to enter...


Please go visit the, "my 60 mile journey" facebook page and "like" it.


Please add yourself as a follower to this here blog,


 Life With Little Ones,


 by scrolling to the very bottom of this page...


and lastly


please leave me a comment including a memory 


of your own grandmother.


thank you.


best of luck.


(winner to be randomly drawn and announced Monday, the 28th.)


update:  the winner of the spring prize package is tracy bower.


please email me your home address... thank you.

life

life

(a) gift

(an) opportunity

(a) journey

(a) challenge

(a) discovery

(a) gift

my life presents it's gifts each and every day. 

my children, family, friends.

a hot cup of coffee, a strong hug.

my camera, the ocean,colorful sunsets.

then there are the larger gifts.

mobility

health

vitality

strength

(an) opportunity

my greatest hope for myself is to use my life as a vehicle to change the world even in the smallest of ways. 

two summers ago, I decided to annually choose a cause and dedicate myself to fundraising and raising awareness in it's name.

(a) journey

i've begun a (new) journey. 

in November, I will walk sixty miles throughout three consecutive days, to help find a cure for breast cancer.

(a) challenge

train, fundraise, walk, walk, walk.

change lives.

I know that everyone has their own stories of cancer, and knows someone who has suffered at its hand. My fathers mother, my Grandma Gene had breast cancer. She also had a double mastectomy when my father was in high school. My mothers father, my Papa, died from pancreatic cancer when I was five years old. Papa's sister, my great aunt Annette died from ovarian cancer just three years ago, and my mothers brother, my uncle Dave was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which is now in remission.

Cancer has deeply affected our family, and although this is a Breast Cancer walk, I will be walking to honor a number of different people, who have suffered from different cancers.

if you might like to donate to my fundraising, 

for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Race Fore The Cure, 

you will find a button in the righthand side bar of this blog,

 that will redirect you to a page where you may do so.

if you cannot contribute to the fundraising,


 please contribute your positive thoughts and hopes for a 


swift, healthy walk in November and an awesome amount of training prior to then.

Thank you.